Fairfax County Police Watch: Arlington Police Officer Charged with Unlawfully Providing Law Enforcement Sensitive Information to a Known Drug Dealer

Defendant Allegedly Involved in Anabolic Steroids Distribution Investigation

U.S. Attorney’s OfficeJune 12, 2013 • Northern District of Texas(214) 659-8600

DALLAS—Thomas S. Kantzos, 45, of Fort Worth, Texas, an officer with the Arlington Police Department (APD), was arrested last night on a federal criminal complaint charging him with unlawfully providing law enforcement sensitive information by exceeding authorized access to a protected computer. He will make his initial appearance in federal court this afternoon, at 2:00 p.m., before U.S. Magistrate Paul D. Stickney. Today’s announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

According to the affidavit filed with the criminal complaint, a particular individual (witness), who was arrested in January 2013 for distributing anabolic steroids, a Scheduled III controlled substance, admitted to routinely using and distributing anabolic steroids and human growth hormones (HGH) during the last 13 years. This witness also admitted that during the last five or six years, he directly and regularly provided anabolic steroids and HGH to Kantzos, whom he knew to be an officer with the APD. In fact, on at least one occasion, this witness delivered approximately 20 HGH kits to Kantzos while Kantzos was on duty, wearing an APD uniform, and driving a marked APD patrol car.

The affidavit further notes that on multiple occasions, Kantzos solicited anabolic steroids from this witness for himself and for others, including friends and colleagues in the APD. Kantzos allegedly collected money from the other individuals before he obtained the steroids, but on some occasions, he “fronted” the money for the purchases. According to the affidavit, most of the anabolic steroids and HGH he obtained from this witness were provided to other officers of the APD. Also, Kantzos allegedly put this witness in contact with two other APD officers so that they could obtain anabolic steroids directly.

Kantzos was authorized to access law enforcement information obtained through the Texas Crime Information Center (TCIC) and the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), and he received specialized training on the authorized uses of the information, as well as the potential penalties for the misuse of such information. Personal use of such information, including releasing information to members of the general public, is not authorized and violates APD policy.

On several occasions, according to the affidavit, this witness, who indicated he was concerned that police might be watching his activities, asked Kantzos to query a name or a license plate using a law enforcement database. On several occasions, Kantzos did this, or had someone else do it for him, and then provided the obtained sensitive information to the witness. In fact, on one occasion in December 2011, Kantzos provided the name of a person who was known to be a law enforcement officer and, based on that information, the witness inspected his/her vehicle and discovered a tracking device attached to it. The investigation revealed that this witness immediately began “laying low” for several weeks. During that time, however, the witness and Kantzos talked about the tracking device and the police surveillance of the witness.

A federal complaint is a written statement of the essential facts of the offense charged and must be made under oath before a magistrate judge. A defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. The U.S. Attorney’s Office has 30 days to present the matter to a grand jury for indictment. Kantzos is charged with exceeding authorized access to a protected computer. That offense, as charged, carries a maximum statutory penalty 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine, per count.

The matter is being investigated by the FBI and the Texas Ranger Division of the Texas Department of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Penley and Deputy Criminal Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney Gary Tromblay are in charge of the prosecution.

Morrogh finds cop he doesn’t love. In other news, hell freezes.

Probe of fatal police shooting goes to federal authorities

By Justin Jouvenal/Post

The Fairfax County prosecutor has turned over the investigation of a fatal police shooting of an unarmed Springfield man to federal authorities, citing complications with the five-month-old case.

Commonwealth’s Attorney Ray Morrogh said the U.S. attorney’s office for the Eastern District of Virginia has agreed to continue the probe into the death of 46-year-old John Geer, who was shot during a standoff with Fairfax County police in August. No one has been charged in the incident.

“There is a conflict of interest that has arisen in the case,” Morrogh said Thursday. “And there is a second potential conflict of interest that has arisen out of my office. . . . This is the prudent thing to do.”

Morrogh declined to describe the nature of the conflicts because the investigation is ongoing. The U.S. attorney’s office said Thursday that it could not confirm or deny any investigation or comment on pending investigations.

Police went to Geer’s Pebble Brook Court home on Aug. 29 because of a report of a domestic disturbance. Geer’s father, Don Geer, said his son was upset because his girlfriend, the mother of his two children, had decided to leave him.

John Geer had thrown his girlfriend’s belongings in the front yard. She called police and told them that Geer had a firearm. Police said they tried for about 50 minutes to persuade Geer to leave the home, but he refused.

Don Geer said he watched the climax of the encounter. He said that he could not hear what officers were saying to his son but that he saw him standing with empty hands resting on top of a screen door at the home’s entrance.

At some point, John Geer began to slowly lower his hands and an officer opened fire, hitting Geer in the chest, his father said. Geer retreated inside and closed the door. A SWAT team eventually entered the home and found Geer dead.

Don Geer said detectives later told him that his son did not have a gun on him at the time of the shooting but that there was a holstered handgun a couple of steps from the front door.

Don Geer said it appeared to him that the shooting was unjustified, but he was unsure what to make of the probe being turned over to federal authorities.

“I don’t know whether that’s good or bad — if I had a better idea of why they are doing it, I could form an opinion,” he said.

Geer and friends of his son have been critical of how long the investigation has taken, but Morrogh said police and prosecutors were working to explore all the evidence. He did not think federal prosecutors would have to start from scratch.

“No one wants these things to linger on,” Morrogh said.

Our ink will outlast his career

Under the reign of former Chief of Police Rhorer the Fairfax County Police arrested a man for not wearing clothes in his house while he made coffee, set up an eye doctor on a gambling charge and then used the SWAT team to kill him. An investigation into the charge that the Doctor’s primary clients were cops has never been investigated. The police gunned down an emotionally unstable man because cop who shot him wrongly assumed the man was trying to escape. He wasn’t. The cops also shot dead four other citizens under highly questionable circumstances. The department under Rhorer was sued multiple times by citizens. So did they fire Rhorer? Naw they promoted him. According to news reports Rhorer draws a salary of $191,168 per year as Deputy Fairfax County Executive as well as a concurrent pension from the Fairfax County police of $173000 per year.

Occupation by force

According to the most recent U.S. Census figures, nearly one in five Fairfax residents (17.5 percent) is of Asian descent while Hispanics make up nearly 16 percent of Fairfax’s overall population. Those numbers drop considerably when applied to the Fairfax County Police Department, where only 4.3 percent of officers are Asian and 4.1 percent Hispanic. White officers make up 84 percent of Fairfax County’s 1,360-member police department, significantly higher than the county’s general population (54 percent white). Almost 90% of the force lives outside the county.